August, '22] herrick: maple case bearer 283 



During the last three years a small tineid moth has become so abun- 

 dant and its caterpillars have proved so destructive to sugar maples 

 that the owners of many groves have become alarmed over the pros- 

 pects of the destruction of their trees. Just what factors have con- 

 tributed to the sudden and wide increase of this tiny pest during this 

 period it is impossible to say. Nor can we predict with any degree 

 of certainty when the natural factors which appear to hold it in check 

 during most years will again come into the ascendency. 



History of the Insect in New York State 



The maple case-bearer was first noticed in New York State during the 

 summer of 1850 by Asa Fitch who gave a brief and interesting but not 

 complete account of its habits and ravages (1856). No reference can be 

 found regarding it in New York from that time up to the year I'^n a 

 period of about 60 years, when E. P. Felt (1912) mentions it as abundant 

 and destructive near Bolton, on Lake George. Apparently the insect 

 has continued more or less destructive over a considerable portion of 

 the State since 1911 although it may have already reached its climax. 

 The Name of the Insect 



When Fitch described the insect in his report for 1855 he called it 

 the maple leaf-cutter and this common name has been used by most 

 writers since. However, since the insect is rather closely related to 

 other common case-bearers and since each caterpillar after its first 

 period as a miner is never without its curious case and always lives 

 within it, the name maple case-bearer is now proposed as the common 

 name of the insect. 



Like many other insects, the maple case-bearer has been named 



and described several times. Its history in this respect is shown by 



the following synonymy: 



1856. Ornix acerifoliella Fitch. Second Rept. Nox. Ben. and other insects of New 



York, p. 269. 

 1861. Inciirvaria acerifoliella Clemens. Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci's. Phil, for 1860, p. 5. 

 1873. Tinea iridella Chambers. Can. Ent., Vol. 5, p. 86. 



1903. Brackenridgia acerifoliella Busck. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. Vol. 5, p. 193. 



1904. Paraclemensia acerifoliella Busck. Jour. N. Y. Ent. Soc, Vol. 12, p. 177. 



Distribution, Foodplants, and Injuries 



Evidently this insect- is widely distributed over the northeastern United 

 States and southern Canada. Ithasbeenrecordedfrom Vermont, New 

 York, and New Jersey westward to Illinois in the United States and in 

 Canada from the Provinces of Quebec and British Columbia. 



The author has observed and collected it in the vicinity of Long 

 Point, North Ferrisburg, and Burlington, Vermont, near Deposit, 



